To the Unknown God: Understanding the Aseity of God in Paul's Sermon at Mars Hill

”For in Him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, for we are also His offspring.” Acts 17:28

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The idea for this series came to me a few months ago while I was driving south on I-75 and listening to a sermon by R.C. Sproul called “Before the Beginning: The Aseity of God.”

Aseity.

The word was unfamiliar to me, not because I didn’t understand its meaning, but because it encapsulates everything I am not.

Merriam-Webster defines "aseity" as "the quality or state of being self-derived or self-originated, specifically the absolute self-sufficiency, independence, and autonomy of God."

No human—past, present, or future—can claim this attribute. We are inherently dependent. In fact, all of creation exists at the mercy of God and is upheld by His holy and divine will. At any moment, He may choose to give or take from what He has made, and He is eternally justified in doing so because He is the God who has always existed, holding all things in their predestined place. The only thing God cannot do is change His own nature. One lie or immoral act from Him would leave us with no Savior and no hope of escape from hell. But in His perfection, God has never and will never fail.

How do I know this is true? Just step outside and look up. The world continues to be sustained, moment by moment, without the help of fallible human hands.

“To whom will you compare me? Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one and calls forth each of them by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.” Isaiah 40:25-26

“He covers the sky with clouds; He supplies the earth with rain and makes grass grow on the hills. He provides food for the cattle and for the young ravens when they call.” Psalm 147:8-9

Then the Lord spoke to Job out of the storm. He said: “Who is this that obscures my plans with words without knowledge?  Brace yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer me.“Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation? Tell me, if you understand. Who marked off its dimensions? Surely you know! Who stretched a measuring line across it? On what were its footings set, or who laid its cornerstone— while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy? Job 38:1-7

When I look at nature in all its forms — from the peace of a quiet forest to the violence of a seemingly never-ending storm — I am reminded it is not in control just as I am not. There is an uncreated Creator who conducts His own symphony with the sound of the trees and winds. I remind myself of the One who upholds it all with a word. He is the One in whom my faith is steadily anchored, and I must be able to defend my belief in Him. 1 Peter 3:15-16

Who is He? He is.

The purpose of this series To The Unknown God is to discover who God is as He has revealed Himself through Scripture. It is necessary to learn who He is and how to properly & lovingly defend why you believe what you believe. We are going to learn some of His many names and characteristics down the line, but today’s post will be a masterclass in apologetics & the nature of God from Apostle Paul & his conversation with unbelieving Greek scholars, their idols, and “the altar with this inscription: “To An Unknown God” in Acts 17.

Join me as we search the depths of scripture to learn of Him.

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Acts 17:16-34 Overview:

Paul was on his second missionary journey spreading the message of Christ. Despite opposition from Jews in Thessalonica & Athens, the Gospel was on the move. Athens, Greece was the epicenter & height of idolatry at the time.

16 Now while Paul was waiting for them in Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he observed that the city was full of idols. 17 So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present. 18 And some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers as well were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What could this scavenger of tidbits want to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” 21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

Sermon on Mars Hill

22 So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in all respects. 23 For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything that is in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made by hands; 25 nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things; 26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and [u]exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’ 29 Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by human skill and thought. 30 So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, 31 because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead.”

32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We shall hear from you again concerning this.” 33 So Paul went out from among them. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.

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Dissection of Scripture

v. 17:  “Now while Paul was waiting for them [Silas & Timothy] at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was beholding the city full of idols. So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews & the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be present.” 

As believers, we tend to be upset when the world blasphemes Christ. A recent example is the Paris Olympics Opening Ceremony where Da Vinci’s depiction of the Last Supper was re-created with drag queens in the name of activism & freedom of secular expression. This sacrilegious example of deathwork in art definitely struck a chord of anger with many Christians, myself included, but in the end, I had to remind myself, that was me once. I may not have done it just as they did, but I too was at enmity with God in my core nature. Colossians 1:21-23 states “Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior. But now He has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope held out in the gospel.” I am humbled by the thought that while in sin, Christ still died for me.

This does not negate idolatrous and blasphemous behavior at all — Christ still remains the Great Judge at the end of days, but Jesus reminds us of how we are to conduct ourselves around those who do not believe in Him. He gave us one job as the Church to fulfill The Great Commission: “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.” Matthew 28:19-20. He also commands us to "love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:44-45

In Acts 17:17, Paul faces a similar scenario. He was “beholding the city full of idols.” As an authoritative apostle of Christ [ἀπόστολος; “sent one”], he went where the Spirit led to help establish the New Testament church. Here, he finds himself in Greece, provoked by the lack of God in the heart of man which was reflected in the city.

So.. what did Paul do?

He reasoned with them. He never cursed them. I’m sure he spent time praying for them as well. One thing we can learn from the Word is that the best & only effective spiritual warfare method is the Gospel. This is spiritual warfare/apologetics 101 — a war against a lie for the establishment of Truth.

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v. 18: “And also some of the Epicurean & Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. And some were saying ‘What would this idle babbler wish to say?’ Others, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities.’ — because he was preaching Jesus & the resurrection.”

Okay, so Paul is reasoning, great. But, with whom? A key to effective spiritual warfare is to be aware of your audience, and we will see how Paul skilfully crafts an argument based on what is familiar to that particular individual:

19 “Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law, I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the Gospel, that I may share in its blessings.”

From verse 18, we learn Paul is talking to Epicurean & Stoic philosophers. As we well know, Greece was a city of intellectualism where new philosophies and schools of thought would be discussed. Both the Epicurean & Stoic philosophies arose out of Greek thought & promoted ideals that would be foreign to a believer & would also cause the Greeks to count the historical account of Jesus as foolishness. We see this as they respond to Paul’s teachings: “ And some were saying ‘What would this idle babbler wish to say?’ Others, ‘He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities.’ — because he was preaching Jesus & the resurrection.” Their key beliefs are summarized below:

—  Epicurean philosophy & beliefs: (est. Epicurius ~307 BC)

• they believe there is no connection between man & God. 

• death is nothing and life is all about peace & avoiding suffering. 

• they reject the afterlife and the supernatural. 

—  Stoic philosophy & beliefs : (est. Zeno of Citium ~300 BC)

• they believe that virtue comes through knowledge (logos) and that connects you to the divine. 

• believe in morality and not spiritual regeneration.

• you are to have no emotion towards what you cannot control. 

• everything is God. 

• they reject any concept of the afterlife.

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v. 19-21:  And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.” (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)

— Aeropagus/Mars Hill: “Northwest of the city of Athens, Greece, is a small hill covered in stone seats. This area was once used as a forum for the rulers of Athens to hold trials, debate, and discuss important matters. This location was called Areopagus, a combination of the Greek words for “god of war” and “stone”: the Areopagus is literally “Ares’ Rock.” The equivalent to Ares in Roman mythology is Mars. By the time of Paul and the early Christian church, this location was under Roman control, so the spot was known as Mars Hill.”

“False gods patiently endure the existence of other false gods. Dagon can stand with Bel, and Bel with Ashtaroth; how should stone, and wood, and silver, be moved to indignation; but because God is the only living and true God, Dagon must fall before His ark; Bel must be broken, and Ashtaroth must be consumed with fire.” — Charles Spurgeon

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ANCIENT GREEK CULTURE & MYTHOLOGY — WHAT PAUL WAS UP AGAINST.

Not only was Paul up against the most brilliant minds in Athens, but this was also a spiritual war against culture. Grecian culture emphasized idol worship, rituals, sacrifices, sexual deviancy, and debauchery in all its forms.

• Greek pantheon gods. Zeus, Demeter, Athena, Poseidon, Hermes, etc. were normal household gods to be worshipped.

• Society was polytheistic & hierarchical with Zeus being “king” of the gods.

• These gods, confirmed through their own myths, were not all-encompassing in power or authority, did terrible things (raped, deceived, cheated), and had vices.

• Each god had rule over a territory or fulfilled a specific role. (ex — Poseidon, god of war. Hera, goddess of love.)

Obviously, the Gospel of Jesus Christ would be completely foreign to their thoughts about God & religion.

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SERMON AT MARS HILL.

v. 22: So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.”

Something of note is Paul called the men of Athens religious. Not just religious, but very religious. In Koine Greek, this means “knowledgeable, ceremonial, and superstitious.” Here is a good time to mention that humans have an innate need to worship. When God is not the object of our worship, something else will inevitably be. When sin entered the timeline of human history, we no longer were in perfect alignment with God, but opposed against His will in our hearts. As time has evolved, humanity has not — we look for whatever temporal solution that can be the source of our worship free from accountability, obligation, and the suffering of holy sanctification.

“The cow gave no law and demanded no obedience. It had no wrath or justice or holiness to be feared. It was deaf, dumb, and impotent. But at least it could not intrude on their fun and call them to judgment. This was a religion designed by men, practiced by men, but ultimately useless to men.” — R. C. Sproul.

Although bright and religious with fidelity to innumerable gods, the Greeks still missed the mark “for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.” They knew there was a god out there they inevitably missed, so they carved a unique inscription on an altar: “To An Unknown God.”

One of the many characteristics I can credit Paul with is his skills of observance. He recognized and appealed to the philosophical nature of his audience, took note of his surroundings by seeing the altar, and skillfully catered his message by incorporating it all to announce the true Gospel of Jesus. Also, notice Paul does not speak to them in an expository tone as if they are already aware of Old Testament history, but he speaks to these wise men as children, discussing the nature of God which should be obvious to them. Instead, he gives them milk. (Proverbs 9:10, Ps. 115:5-8, 1 Cor. 3:2, 1 Cor. 9:19-23)

Next, we see how Paul reveals who the Unknown God truly is and some aspects of His nature.

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THE DIVINE NATURE OF GOD — HIS ATTRIBUTES.

v. 24: The God who made the world and all things in it,

What a profound statement. The God who made the world. The universe did not just appear by chance or accident but was created intentionally with perfection and intelligent precision. I love space & its infinite vastness — even still, it reminds me there is One greater than itself who rules every planet and places every star just so.

Shakespeare famously writes “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players; they have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts…”, but I will add, “yet it is God from whom all things start.”

God is the ultimate scientist and mathematician. See, science is not an enemy of Christianity nor is it secular. The study of science is discovering how God did it, and it’s absolutely fascinating.

v.24 cont. “…since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands;

Psalm 24:1-4 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.”

He rules by Himself. He needs no pantheon of gods as the Greeks arrogantly concluded.

God, the King: ruler & justifier of those He calls.

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v. 25: nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things;

Not only does He not rule within a pantheon, what kind of temple could possibly contain the presence of the Lord? The human mind cannot conceptualize how big God truly is even though we do our best to minimize Him physically and spiritually. He cannot be contained in what He owns. The glory of God shines through His creation. It is not through human effort, thought, or imagination that God was made or given a home (as the Greeks thought), but God is all by himself. His name is YHWH, the Existing One that gives to all, not man. That is the correct hierarchy.

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v. 26-27: and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

“Not far away” breaks both the Stoic & Epicurean philosophy of divine relationship to man. The Stoics proclaimed that God is all, yet all is not God but God is above all. The Epicureans proclaimed that God had no relationship with man, yet God made man in His image.

He designed us to seek Him because He is near. Sin is what blinds us and causes us to grope, but God constantly reveals Himself through His word, nature, and when we seek him. Also, He draws those called unto Himself. (Psalm 19:1-6, Romans 1:18-23, Hebrews 11:6)

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 v.28-29: for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’ 29 Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. 

For in this unknown God we live, we move, and have our being. We are also His offspring. Here, Paul is not saying we are gods ourselves, but we have a Maker that exists out of the scope of imperfect human philosophy.

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v. 30-31: Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

Because Jesus came, lived, died & resurrected (and the Genesis 3:15 prophecy was fulfilled), there is no excuse for ignorance. God now declared the Gospel that all men should repent. 

“Paul ends his sermon by announcing that the time of ignorance is over and calling for eschatological repentance (17:30-31). Now Paul’s purpose is clear. He is not seeking to add a new god to the Athenian Pantheon; he is rather seeking the Athenians’ repentance! God will no longer “overlook” this ignorance (cf. 14:16; Romans 3:25); now is the time for repentance (17:30). Just as God had made all the nations to inhabit the whole earth from one man (17:26), so God will judge the world through the one man whom God appointed (cf. Romans 5). That this man is Jesus is confirmed when Paul says that God raised him from the dead (17:31). Paul has deferred the misunderstood subject of resurrection (17:18) until the end of his speech. The sermon ends with God as the main actor: God overlooks, commands, sets the day, judges the world, and provides proof through the resurrection.” Working Preacher from Luther Seminary.

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I believe the last few verses succinctly express how a friendly conversation with a skeptic may end:

“32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to scoff, but others said, “We shall hear from you again concerning this.” 33 So Paul went out from among them. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris, and others with them.”

It is important to remember when discussing your beliefs (and I’m preaching to the choir here) that the purpose of your discussion is not to win an argument or to prove that you are right. It is to reveal the story of God’s mercy to one in need of it — as you once were — so that He may be glorified and Jesus may receive the reward of His suffering on Calvary. Some may mock you, others may ponder, and prayerfully some will believe, but your one job, dear Christian, is to plant the seed of His grace in that heart.

“So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The one who plants and the one who waters have one purpose, and they will each be rewarded according to their own labor. For we are co-laborers in God’s service; you are God’s field, God’s building.” 1 Corinthians 3:6-8